Susan Ricke

A service honoring Susan’s life will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Gunderson Funeral Chapel. Interment will follow at North Lawn Cemetery. The visitation is from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Friday at Gunderson Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Memorials may be directed to the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home.

Susan is survived by her husband Jim; her daughter Anna (Rusty) McNeil; her grandchildren, Jaxen and Anthony; her sister-in-law Terry Werner; and her brother James Case. She was preceded in death by her mother and father.

Susan was born February 10, 1945, in Winfield, Kansas. She graduated from Fort Dodge Senior High and attended the University of Iowa. On March 19, 1976, Susan was united in marriage to Jim Ricke in Fort Dodge. Susan was employed with Iowa Medical Supply and with Frontier Telephone from where she retired in 2010. Years ago, Susan helped with the ‘ticker’ which supplied information to broadcasters covering University of Northern Iowa Panther football games.

Susan was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church and was active in her community where she participated with the Fort Dodge Lancers when they performed at the John Kennedy inauguration. She was the director of the Frontier Days Parade for ten years, worked at Mineral City Speedway for ten years, was active with Fort Dodge Chili Lovers, Business Professional Women, and helped with the Couch Freak Boogie at the airport over Labor Day weekend for 25 years. Susan was also a founder of the Blues Under the Trees event held at the racetrack. She will be remembered for dressing in her vibrantly colored outfits.